Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Politi: Snow at the Super Bowl should be embraced, not feared

Super Bowl snow removal: Watch how it will happenOfficials from the NY/NJ Super Bowl host Committee, NFL and NJ Department of Transportation show off a fleet of snow melters, plow trucks and front end loaders that would spring to action if a storm hit for the big game. This video shows how the largest Aero snow melter can liquify more than 600 tons of snow per hour. (Video by Andre Malok/The Star-Ledger)

I have seen what will happen if you dare to fall on the Super Bowl, and trust me, flakes, it is not pretty. A backhoe will lift you – as much as 600 tons an hour, to be exact – into a large industrial machine called the Aero Corp Snow Melter.

And then? Put it this way: Frosty goes in, and seconds later, a hat, a scarf and a carrot comes out.

This shock-and-thaw demonstration was part of a press conference in Lot F at MetLife Stadium on Wednesday. Four officials planning the first outdoor, cold-weather Super Bowl gathered on a dais in front of seven shiny new plows to describe, in excruciating detail, their plans for weather.

They talked about the 821 trucks, their engines running and plows lowered, in a 30-mile radius. They talked about 60,000 tons of salt and 440 spreaders at the ready. They talked about their “brine capacity” – and actually used those words – which is apparently enough to salt all the French Fries in the world.

“We have the trucks. We have the manpower. We have the supplies on hand to fight any major event,” said Joseph Mrozek, the deputy commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation. “And if all that fails, we will lower Woody Johnson himself from a helicopter with a flamethrower.”

Snow during Super Bowl? Host committee says they are readyOfficials from the NY/NJ Super Bowl host Committee, NFL and NJ Department of Transportation held a briefing at Met Life Stadium about weather preparedness. With more than 80,000 attending the game on Feb. 2, 2014, and 400,000 visitors to the region, plans for a potential snow storm is critical. The officials discussed the snow removal process and outlined emergency scenarios and contingency plans that would be used for the big game. (Video by Andre Malok/The Star-Ledger)

At least, I think he said that second part. Hey, it was 28 degrees outside. The ink in my pen froze.

If you’re wondering what, exactly, the big deal is about the potential for a little snow in a region that deals with it just fine each winter … well, you’re certainly not alone.

Our country does snow hysteria better than anything, and the big game figures to be the pinnacle of precipitation panic. Still: They’ve been removing snow at the Meadowlands since 1976 without a single postponement. They have a pretty good idea of how to do this.

So this show of force at the press conference was an attempt to assure the skeptics that the game will be played. This was left unsaid: That a snowstorm is the absolute best-case scenario for the NFL.

Yes, some fans will get stranded. Yes, transportation will be an issue. But remember: The Super Bowl is not just a football game. It is, above everything else, a television show.

Snow might make it the most-watched television show ever. People will tune in for the spectacle alone. Will the players be able to handle the conditions? Will the white stuff determine the outcome? Will Bruno Mars slip and fall off the stage during the halftime show?

Actually, can we have that last one happen, snow or not?

Snow is a good thing. An unexpected blizzard turned a mundane regular-season game between the Eagles and Lions into one of the most memorable moments of the season. The Lions fumbled seven times. Extra points were impossible, much less field goals. It was fascinating.

And, of course, this was the headline on ESPN.com: “Super Bowl XLVIII could be a travesty in blizzard if Lions-Eagles game is any indication.” As if football, the ultimate all-weather sport, must be played in perfect conditions for a true champion to be crowned.

“There is nothing wrong with a little bit of snow during the Super Bowl,” said Frank Supovitz, senior vice president of events for the NFL. “I think you’re going to have a stadium full of fans who are just going to have the time of their lives.”

If not, hey, they were they ones who decided to pay $3,000 for an upper-deck seat in New Jersey in February. If it’s not snowing, it’s almost certain to be cold at 6:30 p.m. on February 2, so the NFL plans to hand out everything from tissues to hand warmers to the fans.

Should it snow, the War on White will begin in earnest, with a crew of 1,600 workers – double the usual for a Giants or Jets game – with 30 front-end loaders, 12 haul trucks and six plows in the parking lots alone.

“We have plenty of assets available to make snow removal a reality,” said Al Kelly, CEO of the host committee. “A snow storm can hit at any time, but that doesn’t mean a football game cannot be played.”

He looked a bit like a general, standing in front of plows instead of tanks, prepared to defend his land from an enemy invader. Frosty, you are a wanted man at this Super Bowl.